Lydia Frantz (Edison)

The degeneration of music

America is coming of age in fields of technology and science. Popular music is not on the rise. Repetitive, ignorant, dumb and regurgitated- new music is a social problem. Music is a very powerful mean of communication. Music has the power to induce emotion, empowerment, sadness, joy and anger.  There is a lot of amazing music that has been created throughout history, from Mozart to Led Zeppelin, Vivaldi to The Pixies, Pink Floyd to Jack Johnson. These are true artists. They went beyond the box of their time, experimented with sound, lyrics and rhythm. Today the majority of music fed to the masses is array of rap and pop artists who don’t speak of things that can change the world, but rather spit lyrics that degrade women and promote lifestyles of waste. If music can affect people so strongly is there a connection between music that is blatantly violent and obscene, to crime, teen pregnancy, and drug use?

According to a document titled ‘Exploring the Drugs-Crime Connection within the Electronic Dance Music and Hip-Hop Night club Scenes’ Since the mid-1980s, the rave and Electronic Dance Music (EDM) scene has been linked to the use and sale of club drugs such as ecstasy, GHB, Rohypnol, and cocaine. The drug market in the EDM scene - particularly with respect to ecstasy - has been linked to organized criminal networks (DEA 2000). The sale of drugs at EDM events is associated with gang activity and risk of violent victimization. In addition to documenting patterns related to illegal drug sale and consumption, research has also found that EDM club attendees engage in numerous risk behaviors related to drug use. Behaviors such as driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, increased sexual promiscuity and exposure to STD’s, dependence and addiction.

The Hip-Hop (HH) scene has been troubled by reports of weapons offenses, assault, and other violence. Studies on the influence of HH have found that HH music elicits significantly more anger than other kinds of music. Other studies have shown that HH and rap music perpetuates rigid gender stereotypes and misogyny and can facilitate sexually aggressive behavior. HH and rap music have also been shown to promote violence and time in prison as acceptable parts of life. In a recent study of college-aged bar patrons, Graham, Osgood, Wells and Stockwell (2006) found that listening to rap music in this social context was significantly and positively associated with all of the aforementioned behaviors - problematic alcohol use, illicit drug use, and aggressive behavior.

I’m not saying that everyone who listens to this type of music is a gang banging, drug addict, but I do believe there is a connection between the de-evolution of human behavior and some of the worthless music that is being produced.

 Sources:

The power of music

http://www.hinduonnet.com/folio/fo0012/00120420.htm

Exploring the Drugs-Crime Connection within the Electronic Dance Music and Hip-Hop Nightclub Scenes p. 19-28

http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/219381.pdf

This entry was posted on 15. April 2009 at 19:02 and is filed under Social Problems. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.